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Tiger Arbelt
Tiger is a character in the Housepets! comic series. He, along with Marvin, was introduced in the strip Yup, He's Over It. He is generally a side character, though has been given a spotlight on a few occasions. Official Site Biography. A dog with an unfortunate name. When he was adopted as a pup, his owner was not aware that being named after a cat was a social h-bomb for dogs. (Other bad dog names are Leo, Felix, Sylvester, Cheshire, Figaro and Tabby) The other dogs will not let up on this, and it’s driven Tiger to become agressive and paranoid. Additionally, he has an eating disorder, which stems from his constant emotional problems. In all, isn’t he a wonderful character to have in a comic? Sort of like a mix between Garfield and Heathcliff–oh. General Information Tiger is literally a burlesque characterization of the comic character Garfield. He behaves like him in different ways, such as hating Thursdays (and on the wrong day), eating food constantly and has even had a strip very similar to that of Garfield and his relationship with Nermal. What separates Tiger as his own character is the fact that he has become mentally unstable due to constant teasing from the other dogs about his name being cat-like. He is quick to threaten someone (mainly Bino) that he will kill them, and became exceedingly paranoid when Zach moved into the family home. He also suffers from an eating disorder, and is known to eat an excessive amount of food when he is distressed. It was mentioned that he can consume up to 57,000 calories in a week and not gain any weight. Tiger does take center stage in an arc titled "Tiger's Very Own Super Special Television Series!". Through a number of mishaps, he wins a lottery run by the Milton ferrets to host a TV kid show called "The Funtime Learning Hour or So!". The show turns out to be an anarchic mish-mash of Seseme Street, Masterpiece Theatre, and a nature program, made even more disastrous by Tiger's rage reactions and general ineptness. Despite a string of humiliations and temper outbursts, he refuses to leave the stage, resolved to complete the program and become a TV star. Finally, the ferrets call in the K9 force to arrest Tiger but he eludes capture and accidentally blows up the whole studio. Ironically, Tiger gets off with a fine and probation, and the ferrets sell the rights to the show to another network for 1.4 million dollars. Relationships Marvin Arbelt An orange cat who lives with Tiger. He may be the closest thing to a best friend Tiger has, although the neurotic pooch did once refer to Zach Rabbit as his best friend (scaring Zach in the process). Marvin provides some commentary about Tiger, including his grotesque but amazing ability to consume large amounts of food, but not gaining weight. In the arcs "All's Fair, Parts 1 and 2", Marvin helped Tiger achieve his dream to compete in a State Fair Eating Contest and tried to act as his coach. However, when the wolf brothers Daryl and Other Daryl enter the game, the gluttonous dog finds himself seriously out-classed and decides to cheat. Despite Marvin's warnings, Tiger starts a pie fight with the wolves, dragging the poor cat into the fray. In the end, the ferrets give Tiger second prize "because it's good television", even though an indignant Marvin thinks his brother deserved disqualification. The Miltons then confiscate Tiger's winnings to pay for the TV studio he wrecked. Zach Arbelt A rabbit who moved into the house on Christmas day. Tiger immediately believed he was being replaced by Zach and warned him about getting in his way-only to think of him as a best friend in the next strip. His ambivalence towards the rabbit turned into outright resentment when Zach started dating Jessica, a possum who clobbered Tiger on his TV program when he insulted her for messing up his scene. On another occasion, when Tiger belittles her in front of Zach, she flattens him again. After the pie fight, Jessica shows up to complete Tiger's chagrin by making Tiger return money he borrowed from Zach before he could spend it. At this point, the two seem to get along best by scrupulously avoiding each other. Bino Bino constantly antagonizes Tiger about his name being more suited for a cat. This has enraged him several times to the point of where he's tried to murder Bino where he stood. His grudge against Bino is strong enough that he risked his pride as a dog by joining the cats' side during The Great Water Balloon War. They clearly detest each other and have not interacted in the strip for many years. Jerry Arbelt Tiger's owner, whom Tiger annoys a lot. He gets frustrated when Tiger eats all of the pizza, and often shouts his name similarly to David Seville yelling Alvin's name from Alvin and the Chipmunks. He has tried to get him on a diet several times, all of which failed, as Tiger quadruples their food budget. In Tiger's Very Own Super Special Television Show!, Jerry, realizing the TV show would get Tiger out of the house, throws him head first out into the yard. 'Cats '- It's uncertain what Tiger's relationship is with the cats, but he has enlisted with them against the dogs during a water-gun/bomb war in the summer, claiming this was his revenge. Trivia *Tiger (along with Marvin and Pete) were originally created by Rick Griffin's brother during their childhood. *According to Dissension's comment on Decision Point, it is possible that Tiger lived in the pound before Jerry adopted him. Category:Dogs Category:Characters Category:Tritagonists Category:Male Characters Category:Dimension Prime